Potter Family Reunion
by fuzzynavaljewelry
Summary: COMPLETE This is not your normal timetravel fic. It's a timetravel fic on crack, taking a bath in LSD, gargling Nyquil and singing Puff the Magic Dragon. If you think this is a LilyRemus fic, then you obviously didn't read past chapter two.
1. New Kids

Chapter 1: New Kids

It was a normal Saturday at Hogwarts. People lounged around the grounds, enjoying the sun. Some dedicated students actually studied. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, unless you count the Dungbombs at breakfast, which nobody did. In fact, many would consider it out of the ordinary if Dungbombs _didn't_ go off. This is because of a certain group of boys and one girl, who call themselves the Marauders.

The Marauders consist of a black-, untidy-haired boy, his equally black-, yet longer-haired counterpart, a mousy-faced boy, and a peaky-looking boy with his fiery-haired girlfriend. She had warmed up to the group only this year, their seventh year, and had started tagging along with them occasionally. These kids are James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and Lily Evans, respectively. Their goal? To prank the hell out of everyone in sight. But little did they know that, as they walked back to the common room at the end of the day, they were about to be at the receiving end of the ultimate prank.

Another group of mischief makers arrived that day. Don't ask them how they got there; I doubt they could tell you. It was this group that Professor McGonagall ushered into the Gryffindor Common Room that evening.

"Students, may I have a moment of your attention? We have some transfer students who have decided to join us for the remainder of their Seventh Year. I hope you will all welcome them warmly. They are Hermione Granger," a girl with nice teeth and bushy, brown hair, "Ronald Weasley," a tall boy with flaming-red hair not unlike Lily's, though still different, and next to him a bespectacled boy with untidy, black hair and a lightning bolt shaped scar.

"Blimey, that kid looks just like James!"

"Thank you, Mr. Black. I am well aware of the fact," said Professor McGonagall, irritated, "However, while Mr. James Potter and Mr. Harry Potter," this caused murmurs among the students, "look alike and share surnames, I have been told that they are not long lost twins or anything of the sort."

She left then, leaving the three standing awkwardly. The one named Harry scanned the room quickly, lingering for a moment on James-understandable, since they looked almost exactly the same-but to James' surprise, he lingered on Lily as well. With a quick jerk of his head, James beckoned them over.

"Well this is strange," said Harry awkwardly.

"You're telling me," replied James, "Are you sure we can't be related in some way?"

"Well, I know we're not twins. I guess it's possible that we're related, though." He said this as if there was more he wanted to say, but was restraining himself. The other two shifted a bit uneasily.

"Introductions, then? You guys were already introduced..."

"Except I like to be called Ron," he interrupted.

"Ron, then. Well I'm James, that bloke there is Sirius Black, that's Peter Pettigrew," something flashed in Harry's eyes and his hand clenched momentarily, "and this is Remus Lupin and his girlfriend Lily Evans." This seemed to startle all three of them for some reason. They went on with the conversation afterward, but they seemed reserved, shying away from questions involving where they came from.

They were hiding something. And James resolved to figure out what.


	2. When Two Plus Two Equals Fish

Chapter 2: When Two Plus Two Equals Fish

As the group headed down to dinner, James noticed that Harry, Hermione and Ron seemed uninterested in the castle. He would have thought they would be gawking at the statues and suits of armor, like the First Years did. If not, you would think they'd be trying to learn their way at least. But, no.

Even more strange, upon arriving in the Great Hall, Ron went directly to a seat at the Gryffindor Table.

"Hey, how'd you know this is the Gryffindor Table, Ron?" James asked.

"Er..." he murmured.

Hermione hastily answered for him, "All these people have Gryffindor robes on, right?"

"Yeah, and I thought 'Better sit with the Gryffindors,'" Ron picked up.

The food magically appeared as usual. Not even a gasp. The closest thing to astonishment was Ron squealing with delight and proceeding to stuff his face. Then again, Sirius was the same way.

Apparently Lily noticed this as well, "Did your other school have tables like these?"

"Yeah," Harry answered.

"Where did you go?"

"Well, the thing is, erm, our school is so private and secretive that it, uh, has a Secret Keeper and everything."

"Funny, I've never read about a school with a Secret Keeper."

"Exactly."

Lily continued to look perplexed, until Remus slid his hand over hers. She smiled and pecked Remus on the cheek. Harry's face turned slightly paler. Why did that make him uncomfortable? His cheeks regained their color when Peter sat down next to him. Ever so slightly, Harry edged away. That's another thing. Why does he seem to hate Peter and why does he hide it?

Class on Monday didn't help either. Double Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin. Today's lesson: the Patronus Charm.

The minute the professor said this, Harry engaged James in a conversation about Quidditch. Turns out Harry was a Seeker at his old school. Ron and Sirius soon joined this conversation. Even Hermione put down her quill after a small look of disgust at the professor's attempt to explain how to perform the charm.

"Aren't you going to pay attention?" Lily hissed.

Sirius and James looked at her like she was asking the stupidest thing in the world.

"Do we ever?" asked James. Lily scowled at them and turned to Hermione.

"What about you?"

"Frankly, the professor is doing a bad job of teaching it. We had a much better teacher in our Fifth Year," she replied.

"Better?" exclaimed Ron, "You thought _she_ was a better teacher?"

"I'm not talking about her," Hermione said. Harry blushed slightly at this.

This answer caught Lily by surprise. Hermione seemed like a kindred spirit to her and was sure she would never blow off a lesson. Now scowling out of frustration, she glared at Harry, hoping to scare him into paying attention. He waved away her attempt.

"Thanks for caring, Lily, but I don't need help with the Patronus Charm."

"Is that so Mr. Potter?" the professor asked, who, unfortunately, had been passing by. Several Slytherins sniggered, "Then perhaps you, with your enormous expertise, would be kind enough to demonstrate."

Harry looked over at James and smiled. Then he raised his wand and, without saying a word, conjured an enormous, silver stag that erupted out of the wand tip. It galloped around the room quickly, stopped in front of Harry and vanished. The professor blinked, clearly startled and impressed.

"Very...very good. Ten points to Gryffindor," he cleared his throat and continued with the lesson, not noticing the death stares Harry was getting from the Slytherins.

James lay awake that night, contemplating. For a moment, he thought he saw a patch of hair on the head of Harry's Patronus that turned up exactly like his did when he transformed. He dismissed the thought immediately. Harry's Patronus couldn't be him.


	3. When Two Plus Two Equals Four

Chapter 3: When Two Plus Two Equals Four

Saturday morning came, as did a Hogsmeade trip, leaving James more confused and even more determined. It came to the point where he nearly seized one of them by the front of their robes and demanded to know what they were hiding. Harry's obvious strength in Defense Against the Dark Arts kept him from doing this.

It seemed that by looking like James, Harry gained, by default, the same enemies. The other day, Snivellus had cast a particularly nasty curse at Harry. James recognized it as a spell that sliced a person like a sword, having been at the wrong end of it before. Harry cast a countercurse that sent the spell flying back at Snivellus. With another flick of his wand, Harry disarmed him and deftly caught Snivellus' wand, pocketing it. Snivellus was left on the ground to explain to Slughorn why he was bleeding and wandless.

Definitely a bad idea to get on Harry's bad side.

James went down to breakfast to find Harry, Hermione, Ron and Sirius in a deep conversation about Lily and Remus.

"...talking to Lily. I don't think she _likes_ Remus anymore, she'd rather be friends," Hermione was saying.

"Remus is uncomfortable, too. There are things about him he doesn't want her to know, thinks she'll desert him," Sirius added.

"And Lily wants to know, doesn't she?" asked Hermione.

"Is there anything she doesn't want to know?" Harry said, rolling his eyes. Hermione gave Harry a horrified look.

"Aww, come on Hermione," Ron put in, "you know it's true. She's just like someone else we know."

Hermione slapped him playfully and muttered something which made him laugh.

"Although I doubt his secret is that bad," mused Harry, "It's not like we're going to care," Ron and Hermione nodded in agreement, "Can't get much worse than a werewolf..."

"What's that about werewolves?" asked Remus nervously, sitting down across from Harry and next to James. His eyes never left Harry's face.

"We had a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who was a werewolf."

"Bloody brilliant," interrupted Ron, "Best teacher we ever had."

Harry nodded, "He's the one who taught me the Patronus Charm."

"Gentlest man you ever saw too," Hermione added.

James glanced over at Remus, who was holding his breath. Only James, Sirius and Peter had ever shown him this acceptance. It was almost as if they knew exactly what to say. James groaned. Another odd thing to add to the list.

"Where's Lily?" wondered James aloud.

Remus coughed, "She was in the dormitory when I left. She and I just broke up and well..."

"Sorry, mate."

"It was mutual." A long silence followed.

"So, Moony, um," James began, "You wouldn't mind seeing Lily with another guy, would you?"

"Not at all."

Sirius groaned, "Give up on her, Prongs. Don't get your heart broken."

"Don't listen to him, he doesn't know what he's talking about," scoffed Hermione. Everyone turned to look at her, Sirius looking affronted, James looking hopeful, "Girls tend to fall for the boy that causes them the most grief," Ron coughed, causing Hermione to blush, "which I've heard is you, James."

"What are you talking about? I never gave Ginny grief," protested Harry.

"It wasn't what you did, it's what you didn't do."

Just then Lily plopped down next to Harry.

"Hey Harry, Hermione, Ron, Sirius," she paused, "Remus," she paused again, longer this time, "James." Not Potter, James.

Hermione's expression clearly said I-told-you-so.

Lily's eyes were locked on James' face. He held them for a minute, implanting those startlingly green, almond-shaped eyes in his mind. Breaking their gaze reluctantly, he slid his eyes over to Harry's grinning face. It was amazing how similar they looked. No, James didn't have a scar. Aside from that, though, the only thing extremely different was the eyes. James' were hazel while Harry's were...startlingly green, almond-shaped eyes.

His mind, which had been trying to add two and two, finally got to four.

"Harry, could I have a quick word with you?" James asked abruptly, getting up as he spoke. Harry obligingly followed him into the deserted Entrance Hall.

"What's up James, need girl advice?" he joked.

"No, no. It's not that, it's, well, um... This may seem like a stupid question, but...ah, don't mean to be awkward," James swallowed hard. It would be embarrassing if he was wrong, but if he was right..., "Are you my son?"


	4. Busted

Chapter 4: Busted

Harry's mouth opened, then closed. He blinked once...twice...

"You know what, forget it," James mumbled, "I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's not that," Harry hurriedly said, "I'm just surprised you figured it out first. I told Hermione it was no use hiding it, but I expected Remus or Lily first," his face soured a bit, "I guess they were busy with each other."

Now James' mouth opened. Then he laughed. After a few seconds, Harry threw back his head too. As their laughter started to die down, James swept Harry into a brief hug.

Still chortling, James said, "Guess the joke's on me this time."

Together, they made their way back into the Great Hall. When they arrived back at their seats, however, James was disappointed to find that Lily had left, for there was no doubt in his mind that Lily was the mother.

"Oh well," he shrugged, "She's warmed up to me now, at least."

"I don't think she's realized that yet, though," Hermione pointed out.

He waved her comment aside, "I've waited this long, I can wait a bit longer," he looked at Remus and his face fell, "Oh, Remus, I'm sorry, I'm taking you for granted again."

"It's alright," Remus sighed, "I want Lily to be happy, but I don't think it will be with me."

James looked at his friend and was touched to see how strong their friendship really was.

"Thank you," James whispered.

"Alright, enough manly bonding time," Sirius interjected, "You guys are acting like James and Lily are going to get married."

James grinned, "You never know, Padfoot." Remus and Sirius (Peter had disappeared, just like he normally did) were sitting on either side of James, so they couldn't see it when James winked at Harry, who grinned back in confirmation. Next to Harry, though, Ron almost choked on the mouthful of pumpkin juice he was about to swallow and Hermione looked uncertainly at James. When he grinned at her, she turned to Harry and glared at him.

"What's up with you two?" Sirius asked, eyeing them suspiciously, "You three have all been acting a little strange since you got here."

"I told you they'd notice, Hermione," said Harry.

"Yes, but we don't have to go around telling them," she spat back.

"Hey!" James said angrily, "I find it insulting that you think I couldn't figure it out myself."

"Figure out what, for God's sake?" Remus cried. Everybody stared at him. Such an outburst seemed more characteristic of Sirius. Remus' curiosity must have been great to produce such an un-Remus-like reaction.

After glancing around quickly to make sure noone was watching, James held up his index finger to represent himself and rounded the fingers of his other hand to represent Lily, then pointed at Harry. This demonstration caused Harry to turn red, Ron to laugh, Hermione to squeak angrily, Remus to gape, and Sirius to congratulate James.

"You didn't have to be so vulgar," Hermione hissed.

They all got up, except for Remus, who began to ponder what he had just heard. He really did like Lily as a friend, but he also knew how James' infatuation with her had turned into something more. Just as he had hoped, going out with her had warmed Lily up to James. Of course, he would never tell either of them, but he owed Harry the truth, at least. Jogging out of the Great Hall, he caught up with the group.

"Harry, could I have a quick word?" he asked.

"Sure," said Harry, drawing aside, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, it's just I thought I owed you an explanation...about Lily and me."

Harry's face took on a look that was part apologetic, part guilty, and part uncomfortable, "I'm sorry Remus."

"No, no! You don't understand. My feelings for Lily are more like...like...," he struggled to find the right words, desperate to make Harry understand, "like you and Hermione."

Now he looked confused, "But you went out with her?"

Remus sighed, relieved. Harry understood his feelings perfectly, "She and I have been friends for years and we talked a lot. Quite a bit of it was about James, or the James she knew," Harry grimaced, "But I really wanted her to see the real James, the James I thought she was meant to be with. So when she asked me out, I said yes."

Harry gaped at Remus, then grinned, "Where would I be without you?"

"You wouldn't be," Remus chuckled.

They made their way back to the Common Room. Waiting just inside the portrait hole was Lily. Harry quickly excused himself and joined the group by the fire. Glancing nervously at Remus, she opened her mouth, closed it, opened it, closed it. She looked Remus in the eye, and he knew exactly the thought she had tried to express.

He smiled encouragingly and whispered, "Go."

Smiling nervously, she went over and sat next to James.

"Hey, Lily, we were just talking about what we wanted to do in Hogsmeade. Care to join us?" James asked.

Lily had looked hopeful, but her face fell when James said "us." "I'd love to," she said, trying to sound more enthusiastic.

Then Lily did something even she didn't expect. She leaned over and kissed James on the cheek. He looked back at her, both dazed and exhilarated. Slowly, he leaned forward and kissed her quickly on the lips.

"I'm glad I finally got it right," he whispered in her ear.

"Me too," Lily whispered back, giggling a bit.

Noticing the other people in the room, which happened to only be Harry, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, and Remus, Lily blushed.

"Brilliant! When's the wedding?" asked Sirius.

"Wedding?" Lily asked, startled, "What are you talking about?" Thinking about it, though, Lily realized she _did_ want to spend her life with James.

"We'll get there eventually, Padfoot," James replied evenly, winking at Harry again.

Sensing that she was missing something, Lily asked, "Am I missing something?"

"Harry's our son," James said, as if children regularly came to the past to see their parents.

Lily gasped. How could she not see it before? His eyes, they were hers. Something in her changed then. Some sort of motherly instinct kicked in and she instantly went over to Harry and hugged him. She knew somehow, that this was why Harry was here. However, she reluctantly broke away from her son, deciding not to tell anyone that she suspected Harry had grown up without his parents. James touched Lily lightly, a touch that said he was thinking the same thing.

Sirius broke the solemn mood by loudly stating that he was going to Hogsmeade without them if they didn't hurry up. So everyone made their way to the portrait hole, Lily and James hand in hand.


	5. A Couple of Fiery Red Heads

Chapter 5: A Couple of Fiery Red Heads

It was an interesting walk down the castle; any girls they saw started muttering and gossiping. They were turned on to James even more because he had managed to seduce the unseducable. Many wondered how long it would last. The more impatient ones flocked after Harry. None of them seemed to accept the fact that he wasn't the ladies man James was. Some even seemed to think that James was joking and attempted to flirt with him anyway.

"Hello, James," said an eager brunette, throwing her arms around his neck, "Why don't you come with me?"

He ducked out from under her arms and replied, almost too brightly, "I'm going with Lily, sorry."

Lily was so pleased with his response and so determined to spite the brunette that she threw her arms around James exactly like the brunette had and gave him a quick, but passionate, kiss.

"That's my boyfriend you're trying to hand on, bitch," Lily said, her eyes flashing. So Harry got his temper from her.

The brunette, not wanting to do anything with all the teachers around, stalked off. She would get revenge, Lily knew, but she would be ready. No way some cow like that would get the best of Lily Evans.

"Next time, can you wait until I leave the room?" asked Harry feebly. James grinned drunkenly at him, still lost in the kiss. But Lily hit him over the head.

"Yes we will, won't we James?" He nodded, now afraid that he might become the object of Lily's wrath.

Luckily for everyone, Lily had cooled down once James had bought her a solid chocolate heart with chocolate hummingbirds charmed to twitter around it. She also bought several different love potion antidotes at the apothecary, just in case James was slipped something by the many jealous girls.

And, of course, the boys had to stop in the Quidditch shop.

"A Comet Two Fifty! Fastest on the market," Sirius remarked, awed by the sleek form.

"How'd you like one of those, Harry?" asked James.

"I have a broom, thanks, and it's much faster than that piece of wood."

"Yeah!" exclaimed Ron. More quietly, he added, "Harry outflew a dragon on his Firebolt."

"_A dragon?_" Remus whispered, "But dragons can fly up to 100 miles an hour!"

"Where were you that you had to outfly a dragon?" Lily's hand had flown up to her mouth and the color had drained from her face.

"Tri-Wizard Tournament," Harry shrugged, indicating that he wouldn't go into detail. Needless to say, this did little to comfort Lily at all.

"They reinstated the Tri-Wizard Tournament? _You were chosen to be a champion?_"

"Yes," he stated simply, still trying to end the conversation. Although, James thought he heard Harry mutter under his breath, "That's not all I've been chosen for."

Then Remus, being the ever-thoughtful guy he is, suggested getting butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks.

"There you are," Rosmerta said, handing out the butterbeers.

"Why, thank you, madam," Sirius got up and kissed her hand, "And might I say you are looking lovely today?"

She giggled a bit, "You say that every time I see you. Although your partner in crime hasn't said a word yet. What happened to the famous James Potter-Sirius Black double act?"

"Sorry, Madam Rosmerta," James sighed, "The red head would hex me if I did," Adding in a stage whisper, "She's the one."

Clearly humoring James, Rosmerta smiled and replied, "Make sure to invite me to the wedding."

Waiting until she was out of earshot, James whispered, "Someone remind me to do that." This caused everyone to chuckle a bit.

"Why don't we go see that new haunted house everyone is talking about?" Lily suggested after all the mugs were drained.

"Wait! Which haunted house? Why have we not heard of this haunted house?" exclaimed Sirius.

"I overheard some girls in the bathroom. All the villagers are talking about it. There's this old house on the outskirts of town. The spirits are said to be particularly violent. Oh, what's the name?"

"The Shrieking Shack?" Harry asked.

"That's the one!"

For some reason, Harry and Ron found this highly amusing. Hermione mimed something in the air that looked like she was reading out of a travel brochure.

"The Shrieking Shack of Hogsmeade, the most haunted building in all of Britain. I think you three will enjoy going there," she said, indicating James, Sirius and Remus.

So the group headed along the path that led out of town. As they came to the summit of the hill and the shabby, battered house came into view, James asked, "So where's this Shrieking Shack?"

Lily looked at him, privately wondering how she ever fell in love with someone so dense, and pointed at the house. Sirius, Remus, and James looked down her extended arm for a few seconds, mouths open, then began laughing.

"Good work, Moony," Sirius slapped Remus on the shoulder. Remus, however, saw the annoyed look on Lily's face, who was quite tired of being in the dark.

He sighed, "I'm a werewolf, Lily, and I go to that house to transform every month. It's me that the villagers hear howling and moaning."

Lily gasped, then got an excited look on her face that she used when she found a new book to read. But before she got a chance to bombard him with questions, James smirked and said, "If you think that's good, check this out."

With that, James transformed into an enormous stag. Lily heard a small gasp behind her and saw Harry gaping at James. Then she remembered Defense class.

"Isn't your Patronus a stag?"

"Hey!" yelled Sirius, "It is, isn't it? C'mon Harry, let's compare it to James."

Not only was Harry's Patronus a stag, but it was an exact replica of James in his animal form. James even transformed back to get a look at it.

"Damn," he breathed, then grinned at Harry, who grinned right back.

Sirius transformed next, into a shaggy, black dog. He pounced on Lily, knocking her on her back, and started slobbering all over her face.

"Yuck, Sirius, get off!"

She got up off the ground after Sirius had changed back, snorting with laughter as he did so, and cast a spell to get the slobber off her face.

"I suppose Peter is some sort of rodent..."

"Rat," Remus said.

"I can't believe you three are unregistered Animagi, well, I can't believe Peter's an Animagus at all, but that's beside the point."

"What are you going to do," James challenged, "turn us in?" Realizing she was defeated, she let the subject drop.

All conversation ended, then, and no one seemed inclined to start another. Everyone leaned against the fence, happy to just have some time to think. Harry had walked farthest away, leaving a gap between him and everyone else. Lily's newly acquired mother senses told her something was really bothering him and she started toward him.

But before she had reached him, another red-head stormed into the clearing, jolting everyone out of their peaceful thinking. She strode over to Harry and slapped him across the face. He just stared at her, his hand covering the place where she had hit him, listening as she raged at him about hiding in Hogsmeade and worrying her.

James winced, "Bitch-slapped."

"Hey!" yelled Lily. No one would hurt her son while she was around. The girl barely had time to react before Lily's curse knocked her over. From the ground, the girl aimed a hex at Lily and Lily found herself trying to bat away huge, flying bogeys.

James and Harry both tried to intervene, creating a scene that looked as if one side was the reflection of the other. If the situation weren't so dire, the effect would have been rather comical. Both girls were now disarmed and struggling against their captors.

"Who do you think you are that you have the right to go up and slap any guy you please?" Lily spat.

"I think I'm his ex-" her voice caught in her throat momentarily, "girlfriend. Who do you think you are?"

"That's a good reason," Sirius said, laughing with his laugh like a bark. The girl whipped her head around to look at Sirius and her eyes widened. She glanced around at all the people staring at her and her eyes widened even more.

"What's going on here?" she asked feebly.

Grimacing, Harry said, "This is Ginny, Ron's sister. Ginny, this is my mum, Lily Evans, and my dad, James Potter."


	6. Embrace It

Chapter 6: Embrace It

"_What?_" Ginny looked wildly at Harry, them to James, then to Lily, who looked abashed herself, and back to Harry before swaying. Quickly, Harry grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.

Harry continued, "There's Sirius," he pointed, "and Remus."

"Are we..." said Ginny, looking helplessly around at the gathered people, "...in the past?" When Harry nodded, she continued in a hushed voice, "No wonder I had to use magic to find you."

A small cough turned both heads to Lily. Her cheeks were as red as her flaming hair. Ginny had calmed down enough to stand on her own. She pushed away from Harry and faced Lily, a blush creeping into her cheeks as well.

"Sorry," they both said at once. Now that the apparent threat of a magical cat fight was over, James and Harry both very visibly relaxed in a very similar manner. Needless to say, the effect was very comical and soon everyone had very painful stitches in their sides.

Immediately, Lily found herself liking Ginny. She was her own person and knew what she wanted. And what she wanted was Harry; that much was obvious. She was quite an acceptable match in Lily's eye. The only problem was the _ex-_boyfriend part. Pondering what could have happened between them, Lily didn't notice herself lagging farther and farther behind as the group walked back up to the castle.

"You guys go on up to the Common Room," said James, "I'll wait for Lily."

Sirius elbowed Harry playfully in the ribs, "He just wants to get an excuse to snog Lily." Harry sniggered with the rest of them, but Sirius grinned when he noticed Harry's paler face. One last snigger rounded the corner as they headed up the stairs.

James was about to tell Lily to hurry up when someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, could you help us?"

He turned to face the tapper. To his surprise, he found three teenagers that looked to be about his age, though none of them seemed familiar. A girl with dark chestnut hair and green eyes stood with two others behind her. Another girl was tall and wiry with curly, bushy hair and a few freckles. The boy was not as tall, but just as wiry. He had a wild look about him, with a wolfish gleam in his eye and his long, brown hair with streaks of black and silver pulled back into a ponytail.

"We're exchange students and we just got here," the chestnut-haired girl continued on, "We're Seventh Years and Dumbledore said we'd be staying in Gryffindor Tower." She was staring at James and he was reminded of how Harry had looked at him the night Professor McGonagall had brought him to the tower.

Just then Lily appeared at James' elbow, "Oh, are you new?" The chestnut-haired girl's gaze landed on Lily's face now and a slight frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. But that soon passed.

"Yes, and we're trying to get to Gryffindor Tower..."

"Perhaps they would like to know who we are first. You must forgive her. She's not partial to introductions," the boy said, flashing a toothy grin, "I'm Ronan."

"Alex, nice to meet you," said the curly, bushy-haired girl.

"And I'm Alissa, or Lis for short."

Lily perked up at this, like she usually does when her curiosity needs to be sated, "Like the French word for lily?"

"Yup," she replied, "but pronounced the English way. My father loves lilies."

"What a coincidence, so do I," James grinned, putting his arm around Lily.

She giggled, "He's talking about me, not the flower. My name is Lily."

Now Lis looked surprised, or was it startled? "Is it really?"

"It sure is," said James, "and I'm James."

This startled all three of them. Their eyes began searching both faces until they came to rest on his forehead briefly.

James shifted uncomfortably, "Well, let's get going."

James and Lily led the way up the Grand Staircase in silence, while Lis, Alex, and Ronan began hurriedly whispering, glancing ahead at the couple periodically. Whether this was because they were talking about them or just following, neither knew, although James suspected the former. It only stopped when they passed through the Portrait Hole.

Remus was sitting in an armchair close to the hole, his nose pressed in a book, with Sirius trying to convince him to join the group by the fire. Hearing the door swing shut, both looked up at James and Lily.

"Took you long enough," joked Sirius.

"We ran into more new kids," James explained, "Lis, Alex, and Ronan."

Sirius immediately bounded over to them and energetically shook each hand. "The name's Sirius. And that is the anti-social bookworm commonly known as Remus."

Remus scowled, "I'm not feeling well, you know that."

"I'm bloating and cramping, but that's not stopping me," argued Lily. Each and every guy winced at that. After all, guys are afraid to explore the "wonders" of womanhood.

Reluctantly, Remus got up and headed towards the fire.

"You wouldn't believe how many new kids we've had this year," Sirius began, "Besides you, four others have showed up in the last month. And they're the first new kids I've seen in the seven years I've been here."

"Seventh Years, eh?" Alex asked, "So are we."

"So are they, too," Sirius said, pointing to the five others, "except for Peter. Oiy, come meet the _new_ new people."

All five heads turned to look at Sirius and his companions. There was a sharp intake of breath from Lis, Alex, and Ronan as the two on the couch directly in front of them spun to face them.

"I see you've found my look alike who isn't my long-lost twin, Harry, and the lovely Ginny," James chuckled.

"You're too old for me, James," she joked back. Lis, Alex, and Ronan, who had been standing stock still with open mouths, loosened up a bit with this comment, as everyone else chuckled.

"And there's Ron, Hermione, and Peter," finished Sirius.

Speaking up at last, Lis spoke in a strangely strangled voice, "Um, hello. It's nice to meet you all," sensing the feebleness, she continued more strongly, "This is Alex, Ronan and I'm Lis-"

"-like the French word for lily!" James blurted.

"We all know you're bloody obsessed with Lily," said Sirius, shaking his head.

Harry smirked, "Yeah, it's not like you're going to have a kid with her." Now everyone cracked up, even the _new_ new kids, although they didn't know the irony of the joke. How could they?

Suddenly, Remus winced and Alex noticed.

"Are you alright, uh, Remus?"

He grimaced, "Just a cramp."

Ronan peered curiously at Remus, looking him up and down and even...sniffing? He continued to do this until Remus began showing his discomfort. Straightening, he stated, "You're a werewolf."

Luckily enough, the Common Room was, once again, deserted. Everyone looked fearfully at Ronan, Alex, and Lis, waiting to see how they reacted to this revelation.

Ronan winked, "Don't look so scared. You're in good company."

"You too?" Remus spluttered, gripping his arm rests so hard that stuffing leaked out the edges. Through his surprise, though, a tremor of pity could be heard.

Merely nodding, Ronan changed the subject. Soon a lively conversation was going, ranging from Famous Witches and Wizards Cards to the Tube. But, as usual, Remus decided to head to bed early.

As Remus walked into the dorm room, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he found himself face-to-face with Ronan.

"Are you alright, Remus?"

Remus sank onto the bed, "No, I'm afraid. Afraid that this..._monster_ inside of me will get out and hurt someone."

"If you let it rule you through your fear, it _will_ get out. You have to accept it, embrace it. If you live your life with it instead of against it, it will live its life with you."

"How is that better?"

"For one, I don't have cramps, just annoying twinges. But you'll see how else it affects me in time. And ask Lis and Alex how less ferocious I am now."

"Animagi?"

"Yes."

"James, Sirius, and Peter are too."

"Figures."

Ronan turned and walked towards the stairs. Bits of conversation still floated up from the group by the fire. As his hand reached the banister, Remus called, "Ronan?"

He turned back, "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Just passing on the knowledge."

"Who helped you?"

A smile played across Ronan's face, lifting all traces of the wolfish look about him, "My father." He went down the stairs and joined his friends once more.


	7. True Gryffindors

Chapter 7: True Gryffindors

The next morning, as Lily descended into the Common Room, she found Remus, Peter, Sirius and James huddled together in a corner, whispering covertly. She chuckled. They might have come a long way, but nothing could take the mischief out of the Marauders. Deciding not to interrupt, she left for the Great Hall.

For a few minutes, she was alone; it was quite early after all. Then Harry came and sat next to her, looking quite pleased with himself. James usually reserved a similar expression for when he had come up with a brilliant prank.

"What are _you_ up to?" she asked.

"You know how they have something planned for this morning?"

"Yes..."

"Well, I have a little something planned for them."

More and more people began filtering in. Right before the peak of the breakfast crowd, Sirius sauntered in, followed by Remus and Peter. James was nowhere in sight. They sat down, Sirius next to Harry, Remus and Peter across from them, staring intently at the Slytherin table.

Harry nudged Sirius. "You're being obvious," he whispered.

"Oh, right," Sirius whispered back, "Come to think of it, James is usually the one to watch that." He began pouring drinks, pouring a fourth for James and setting it across from Lily. She, however, kept staring at the Slytherin table.

There! A drop of potion materialized in thin air and splashed into an empty goblet...and another...and another. A section of at least ten goblets had drops in them before the drops stopped forming, the section usually occupied by the Seventh Year Slytherins.

And, sure enough, a few moments later, James walked in, followed by the Slytherins. By now, many of the Gryffindors had gathered that the Marauders had a prank up their sleeves and awaited the results with bated breath. Everyone was so preoccupied that only Lily noticed Harry as he tipped a drop of potion into each of the Marauder's drinks.

The Slytherins took mouthful after mouthful; nothing happened. Their goblets were drained. James grinned.

"Not long now," he said, raising his glass for a toast. All four of them clinked glasses and downed their drinks in one gulp. The second they put their goblets down, the Great Hall erupted in laughter.

Several older Slytherins, including Severus Snape, now sported red and gold striped hair. It looked very much like they were wearing Gryffindor scarves on their heads, which is undoubtedly what the Marauders intended.

"All hail Gryffindor!" James shouted, then clamped his hand over his mouth as the Slytherins now roared with laughter. His voice had come out high and squeaky, as if he'd inhaled helium.

Sirius, Remus, and Peter began laughing, but stopped once they realized their voices were high too.

"Someone pranked the Marauders! Someone pranked the Marauders!"

"The munchkins escaped from Oz," Harry said, causing the Gryffindor table to renew their laughter. This did little to improve James' mood. Apparently he could play plenty of jokes, but couldn't take one. Fuming, he stormed out of the hall. Sensing trouble, Lily ran after him.

Harry paled, "It was just a joke."

"Was this you?" Sirius asked, cracking on the word 'you', raising his voice several octaves higher than normal.

Chuckling, Remus smiled at Harry, "Nicely done. And I'm sure James will agree once he stops being sore."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Snape sneak out of the Great Hall, fury all over his face.

"Maybe I should talk to him," said Harry, rising before anyone could stop him.

James saw Snape, too.

"Think you're funny, do you?" Snape spat.

Staring coolly at him, James replied, in his still high voice, "A riot."

Sneering, Snape said, "But you got what's been coming to you for a long time." Then he laughed. James reached for his wand.

"Don't!" Lily yelled, grabbing his arm, "Just leave him."

He shrugged her hand off, "But I haven't had fun with Snivellus for a while."

Planning to fire a Leg-Locker Curse, James raised his wand. Unfortunately, his plans were ruined when his wand flew out of his hand, straight into Harry's left. His right was still extended from casting the Disarming Charm.

"I don't need your help," cried Snape. He aimed a curse at Harry, who cast a Shield Charm with James' wand and the Full Body Bind with his wand.

"Who said I was?" Seeing the crowd that had gathered, Harry waved both wands, saying, "Nothing more to see here." Everyone scattered.

Furious, James dragged Harry into the nearest empty classroom, Lily quickly following, Snape left forgotten.

"What was that?" asked James, confused, "Don't tell me you sympathize with Snape."

"No!" Harry said quickly, "You have no idea how much I hate Snape-"

"Then what's the problem?"

"Your idea of fun is hexing someone for no reason besides that they exist," Harry had a pained look in his eye. Lily didn't blame him; children shouldn't have to see and correct the bad in their parents. He continued more quietly, "That's as bad as Voldemort."

James recoiled, as if slapped, "I'm not like _them_, like a Slytherin. I stand up to my enemies, like any true Gryffindor should."

"That doesn't mean you hex them whenever you feel like it. A true Gryffindor stands up for what is right, no matter who they have to stand up to." Without another word, Harry fled.

James sank to his knees, his head in his hands, "What have I done?"

Lily sat down beside him and cupped his face, "You didn't mature quite as fast as our son. Remember, you're seventeen, not thirty-seven."

"What could have happened to him to make him this way?"

"I don't know."

He stood up, suddenly anxious, "I need to talk to him. I...I need to make things right." Lily's answer was a quick kiss on the cheek.

Dashing out the door, he went to find Sirius. His nose found Sirius' back just outside. The whole motley crew was outside, surveying what had happened, including Snape, still immobile on the ground. James quickly grabbed Sirius, Ron and Hermione and shoved them into the room.

He spoke, still very anxious, "Quick, open the map, Sirius. I need to find Harry."

They all poured over the map until Ron pointed to a spot over by the lake. James knew that spot well. He said a quick thanks before running out.

Coincidently, Harry had chosen the tree by the lake that the Marauders had sat under after the Defense OWL. James had had "fun" with Snape that day, too. He prayed that Harry hadn't heard this story, but somehow he doubted it.

"It hurt you, saying that to me."

Harry didn't turn his head, just simply answered, "Yes."

"But it had to be said, by someone besides Lily."

"Unfortunately for me." He chuckled, "At least I don't sound like I swallowed helium. By the way, that should wear off around dinner."

"That was you?" James ogled at Harry, who only grinned, "But, how? I've never heard of anything like it."

"You wouldn't. It's mostly physics. I used a spell to compress some helium so much that it liquified and then poured it in your drinks."

James blinked, then threw his head back laughing, "You're a bloody, maniacal genius. Powerful to boot, too. Two wands! I was beginning to think you were all power and no fun."

"I'm not _that_ serious."

Sighing, James sat beside Harry, "But you are definitely maturing faster than I am. I'm not stupid. Something's happened to you, something that shouldn't happen to a kid. It's destroyed your blissful innocence of childhood."

"Please don't ask that. I can't tell you," he pleaded.

"Alright, I won't. If you ever want to tell me, though, I'll listen."

"I'll remember that."

"Now," James said, jumping up, "I want to see you explain this prank to Moony."

"Why?"

"For once, I want to see him completely clueless."


	8. Snakes

Chapter 8: Snakes

As Harry and James made their way back to the castle, they were unusually silent. Although, it was a companionable silence, welcomed by both. It was quickly broken, however, as soon as they came through the door.

"Hurry up, you two," Sirius said, grabbing their arms, "We're going to be late for Defense class."

James leaned over to Harry, "Maybe we should save our bonding time for after classes." Harry chuckled at this.

Luckily, the professor wasn't in the room yet and many of the students were still mingling. The three boys managed to slip in and quickly went to their usual table. Although, with all the "additions" to their group, the usual table had turned into the usual corner.

Lily quickly shot Harry and James a concerned look. They both just flashed identical grins at her, which put her at ease.

"Bonjour, classe," the professor began, coming down the stairs from the office, "Asseyez-vous et nous commencerons."

Most people just stared at the professor, but a few smart people caught the gist of the professor's words and sat down.

"Ah, bon! On ne parle pas français, mais on me conprend. Alors, qui parle français? Levez la main."

Tentatively, Hermione raised her hand, "Um...Vouloir vous parle anglaise?" Her pronunciation was obviously not up to par.

"Most certainly, Miss Granger. I do believe you classmates will be grateful to you for asking me to speak English." She flushed and mumbled something indistinguishable.

Furrowing her brows, Lily wondered where the professor was headed. She thought she had a dim idea of what it was. Apparently Harry had guessed too; his face had paled a bit.

"Professor," said Alex, "We aren't going to talk about Parselmouths, are we?" The room immediately tensed.

The professor smiled at her, "Very good. That is, indeed, today's topic. Now, who call tell me why we are going to discuss Parselmouths?"

"Because it's one of the Dark Arts," James scoffed. For some reason, Harry winced at his words.

"Yes and no."

"Most people _believe_ it's one of the Dark Arts," murmured Harry.

"Correct," said the professor, beginning to wander around the room, "And why do people believe this?"

"Because they're evil," Sirius spat.

"It is true that the only known Parselmouth families are...a bit dark in nature. However, being a Parselmouth does not make a person evil," James snorted, but kept his mouth shut, "Why is that?"

Harry swallowed, "Because it's not a choice."

"Very good, Mr. Potter. It is hereditary, that is, it is passed down parent to child. There is no proven magical means of becoming one."

Something in his voice made Lily think the professor knew more and she decided to press her luck a bit, "_Proven, _sir?"

The professor visibly cringed, "Well...ah, there is one...theory," It was easy to see that the professor was extremely agitated. But the students were extremely curious, "But don't get any ideas. Those who have the means for the, ah..., process wouldn't be willing to do it and those who would be willing wouldn't have the means. So, in that sense, one wouldn't have a choice either. Now I'm not sure whether you've done you research, Mr. Potter, or just got lucky with your word choice, but twenty points to Gryffindor anyway."

She might have imagined it, but Lily could've sworn that Harry turned a bit green. It matches his eyes, she dryly observed. She also couldn't help noticing how quite everyone had become. They weren't paying attention at all, but they weren't carrying on any other conversation. Sirius and James at least were still discussing their opinions of Parselmouths and even attempting to rope Remus and Peter into the conversation.

"Well, I still say they're evil," James stubbornly asserted.

Remus looked at James in utter disdain, "How can you say that, James? How can you be willing to give the benefit of the doubt to werewolves but not Parselmouths?"

Hearing this, Ronan turned around and addressed James, "I was wondering the same thing myself."

"It's different," said James, immediately becoming defensive. Sirius crossed his arms, clearly indicating that he agreed with James.

"No, it's not," came the collective answer. James and Sirius were gobsmacked. No one was rushing to their defense, not even Peter, who usually agreed with them no matter what.

Suddenly, Lily understood. But how to make James and Sirius understand without anyone else hearing? There was a spell; she saw it in Severus' potions book once. Oh, what was it?

"_Mufflio? Mufflia? _Oh, what was the bloody spell?"

"_Muffliato?_" Harry offered. She jumped as she realized she had thought out loud. It was even more surprising that he knew the spell. Maybe it will be more popular in the future. Silently, she cast the charm.

"What did you do?" Lis asked.

"I cast a charm that keeps us from being overheard," Lily replied rather loudly. No one else in the room indicated that they heard, as Lily had hoped.

"Now then," she began, "Who, here, is a Parselmouth?"

The Marauders looked at her incredulously. But everyone else looked down or away, not wanting to meet anyone's eye.

Except for Lis. She looked James and Sirius straight in the eye and said, "I am." For good measure, she repeated it in Parseltongue. Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's, and Ginny's heads whipped around to look at Lis. Lily made a mental note to find names for these new groups to reduce the mouthful when talking about them. "And I'm not the only one. I'm sure one of those four is too." She nodded at Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

Harry's face now looked positively white. Slowly, he swallowed and whispered the same words Lis had said. His eyes sought Lily's and James' eyes, begging them to understand. He didn't ask for this.

Lily's hand flew to her mouth and James bit his lip, "Dammit! You shouldn't have to keep correcting me like this," he cried.

"Um...," Hermione interrupted, "Just so you know, everyone can still see us. Please wait until after class to make a scene." That managed to create some sense of calm.

After class, however, was another story. Lily and Hermione managed to herd everyone into yet another empty classroom.

"How is it possible to have so much drama before lunch," Lily grumbled to herself. Turning to everyone, she said more loudly, "Get your feeling out now."

James sighed, "Lis, Harry, I can't tell you how sorry I am. And Remus and Ronan, I owe you an apology too." Sirius nodded and muttered, "Same here."

Remus merely grinned, "...And?"

"And we're not worthy enough to bask in the glory of you forgiveness, oh great and powerful Monsieur Moony," they chanted.

"Excellent! Let's go eat," Ron shouted before bolting out the door. Everyone began filing out until Harry and Lily were left alone. He still had a troubled expression on his face.

"What's the matter?" asked Lily, draping her arm over his shoulder.

"There's something strange about Lis, but I can't put my finger on it."

"I'm sure it's nothing."

"Yeah...you're probably right."


	9. Calculus

Chapter 9: Calculus

James and Sirius quickly got over what prejudices they still held...after lunch of course. Nothing could come between them and their stomachs. Sometimes Lily wondered what she saw in James. Then she would see Harry, slap her forehead, and think, "Oh, Yeah! That's what."

"At least you didn't inherit his table manners," Lily remarked to Harry. With perfect timing, Ron let out a loud belch.

"I think Ron is messy enough for both of us," Harry snorted before they both broke into small chuckles.

"Do you think if I starve him for a week, he'll get better manners?" she giggled. Harry shrugged nonchalantly, although Lily detected a small bit of discomfort, so she let the subject drop. He would tell her if he wanted to.

After lunch, they had a small break before the next class. James and Sirius headed to an obscure location along the lake shore that had enough underbrush to give privacy. Why they chose to hike all the way out here when there were plenty of closer places that were just as private was beyond Lily.

The reason became apparent when Sirius transformed and started sniffing around in the bushes. Now the why that was beyond Lily was why on earth Sirius was sniffing around the bushes.

"There are bathrooms in the castle, Sirius," joked Alex. The bushes shook indignantly and a growl came from between the leaves, causing everyone to laugh.

"Wait!" exclaimed Lily, "Should Sirius have done that in front of them?"

"Who's them?" asked James.

"Lis, Alex, and Ronan."

"Don't worry," Lis said with a mischievous grin, "We won't tell if you won't."

With that, she transformed into a red-tailed hawk and flittered over to perch on Alex's head, which was now the big, fuzzy head of a brown bear. Lily was impressed at their choices. A hawk has great eye sight to make up for the bear's horrible eye sight and the bear has a great sense of smell to make up for the hawk.

"That's another thing," Lily began, "I think we need to come up with group names for you guys."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry.

"I mean that it's a mouthful to say Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny whenever I want to refer to you. It would be easier if your group had a name, like the Marauders."

Remus looked thoughtful, "She does have a point."

"The Anti-Umbridge League," snorted Ginny.

"Or Spew," supplied Ron.

Hermione gritted her teeth, "It's S.P.E.W."

Seeing some eyebrows raise, Harry explained, "Hermione is trying to promote freeing house elves. She can't seem to understand that they don't want to be freed." Hermione shot Harry a dirty look.

Lily giggled, "Well, aren't you just the little rebels?"

"The Rebels..." Harry mused, "I like it." The others nodded in agreement.

"Then we'll be the Soldiers," Lis said.

"The Rebels and the Soldiers," Lily said with a satisfied smile, "Those seem very fitting."

Just then, the bushes shook and they heard a canine exclamation. A few seconds later, they heard a human exclamation and Sirius tumbled out of the bush. He hopped up and bounced excitedly over to Harry and Lis. His eyes twinkled with the curiosity one expects from small children, not a wizard of age.

"Talk to it," he said, shoving a small green snake in their faces. It looked irritated at Sirius for capturing it in such an undignified manner.

"_Put me down, you bastard!_"

Lily jumped before babbling, "I...I understood it." Then the words sunk in and she laughed, "How rude."

Lis shrugged, "It's probably a temporal side-effect."

Everyone gapped at her, some out of fear, others out of confusion. The poor snake wriggled around in Sirius' hand, trying to get someone's attention.

Sirius blinked at her, "What does that mean?"

Continuing on in a casual tone, Lis said, "I mean, it probably has something to do with Harry traveling back in time to when his parents were in school."

The ringing silence that followed was overwhelming. Even the snake had sensed the tension and held still. The Soldiers just stood there like Lis had said the most obvious thing in the world. Although, it _was_ obvious, Lily realized with a start. At least to anyone who looked hard enough.

"_Pardon me, but I could use some help here._"

Harry shook his head and muttered, "_Oh, sorry,_" to the snake and, "Please, don't tell," to the Soldiers.

"_May I please bite this buffoon of a humanimal?_"

"_Are you poisonous?_"

"_No._" Disappointment was clearly evident in the snake's voice.

"_Go ahead, then. He deserves it._"

The snake sunk his fangs into the soft tip of Sirius' thumb. With a yelp, Sirius dropped the snake. It quickly slithered away, muttering other colorful words.

"Serves you right for catching that poor thing," Lily scolded.

Once break was over, they all headed up to their next class, Transfiguration. McGonagall had been reviewing for the past couple of weeks. "It's never too early to study for NEWTs," she said. Today they were changing the color of their eyebrows.

"Maybe Ron will give himself a moustache, again," smirked Hermione. Ron replied by imitating Hermione whenever she answered a question.

"Oh, no," moaned Harry from where he and Lily were sitting. He was looking over at Hermione and Ron as if he were expecting them to have a row. But he relaxed when they both laughed.

"James!" cried Ronan. James had turned his hair bubble gum pink.

"He kind of looks like Tonks," Harry laughed.

"Who?" asked Sirius from behind them.

"Your cousin, the half-blood one."

"Oh, her. I met her once. My parents made sure it never happened again. Too bad, she was one of the few I liked."

Harry and Lily began concentrating on their eyebrows again. Lily's were both green and she was now helping Harry even though he was doing alright.

Ginny, however, was having more trouble. She had confided to Lis that she was really only a Sixth Year. The older girl looked surprised at first, but immediately agreed to help her. They chose a desk at a diagonal from Harry and Lily's desk, giving them a perfect view of the girls.

"Why did you break up with Ginny?" asked Lily, "It's obvious you both still care about each other."

He sighed, "I didn't want her to get hurt...because of me." Lily just squeezed his hand and smiled.

"They sure seem to be getting along well though," Lily said, trying to cheer Harry up.

"Yeah."

"They look similar, too."

"Yeah, except for their eyes."

Lily looked closer, "You're right. Lis' are green."

Harry smiled at Lily before looking back at Lis. Then, he did a double take. "That's not just any green..."

The derivative of Harry plus Ginny is the limit as Harry approaches Ginny of Harry over Ginny is Lis?

Now it was Lily's turn to do a double take, "She's not...?"

"It's possible."

"Are you sure...?"

"It makes sense." He turned to Lily, grinning mischievously, "This could be fun."

Harry went over to their desk. Ha had his back turned, so Lily couldn't hear him, but Ginny left and went to sit with Lily.

"What's going on? Why do you need to talk to me?" Ginny asked.

"Who said I wanted to talk to you?"

"Harry."

"Oh," Lily quickly leaned over and whispered something in Ginny's ear.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And he's going to prank her?"

James immediately turned around, excitement lighting up his face, "Who's pranking who?"

"Harry is pranking Lis."

Everyone immediately began watching them while still looking like they were doing something. It seemed as if Harry was only getting help, but there was a subtle sensuality in his demeanor that Lily wouldn't have noticed if James hadn't been the same way with her. She had to screw up her eyes to keep from laughing.

At the end of class, everyone filed into the hallway. Harry sidled up to Lis and slipped an arm around her waist. She immediately grabbed his hand and spun around to face him.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, "I thought you liked Ginny."

"That was before I met you." He reached up and stoked her hair.

"Harry, no!" she cried, looking around wildly, "You're making a mistake. You're supposed to be with Ginny."

He dropped his act and replaced it with a playful one, "And just how do you know that?"

Lily couldn't stand it anymore. She fell to the floor, laughing.

Lis glared at Lily, then at Harry, "That was a dirty trick, Dad."


	10. A Powerful Pull on the Imagination

Chapter 10: A Powerful Pull on the Imagination

Several people who were slow to leave class paused even longer to watch the scene panning out in the hallway. Lis didn't notice - she was far too angry -, nor did Lily, Ginny or Harry - they were laughing far too hard -, nor did the rest of the Marauders and Rebels - they were far too dumbstruck. Alex and Ronan did notice, however.

"Your American accent needs some work, Lis," said Ronan, shaking his head. This only made Lily, Ginny, and Harry laugh harder. "Apparently, they agree with me, too."

Most people, realizing that this scene wasn't nearly as interesting as it seemed, left. Alex grabbed Lis and steered them all into - you guessed it - an empty classroom.

"Bloody hell, Lis!" exclaimed Alex. "You need to be more careful before we're found out. We could be arrested, or worse, expelled!"

Harry was now crying with laughter. "You...managed...to sound like...Ron and Hermione...in the same breath!" he spluttered between laughs.

Poor Peter, who actually was present for once, was hopelessly confused. "Wait a minute! What's going on here?"

James blinked. "Did you tell him?" Sirius and Remus shook their heads. "Well, I didn't..." He turned to Peter. "Oops. I guess we forgot to tell you-"

"I don't think you should," Harry butted in.

James looked at him incredulously. "Why not?"

"Well, in my experience, Peter didn't keep secrets very well. No offense to you, Peter," he added quickly.

Torn between his best friend and son, James debated what to do. He really wanted to find out about the Soldiers. But, Peter had started drifting away from them and denying him wouldn't help the situation, especially since he wouldn't understand. To be a friend or to be a father, possibly a grandfather.

"Sorry, mate," he said to Peter, "We'll meet you in the Common Room later, alright?"

"Yeah...no problem..." Peter muttered as he walked out the door.

Immediately, James exploded at Harry for putting him in that mess in the first place, "What's Peter ever done to you? What reason did you have to do that?"

"A good one," replied Lis, her eyes flaring.

Ronan put a hand on Lis' shoulder, which calmed her down. He looked James straight in the eye and said, "They're both right."

Something about the look in Ronan's eye and the tone of his voice convinced James to listen. Something about him allowed James to trust his judgement. Only Remus had ever affected him that way before.

James' eyes lit up. "Congratulations, Moony! You're not going to remain an anti-social bachelor for the rest of your life."

Remus' face twisted in horror. "It's my fault, isn't it? Either I bit you...or you were born that way."

"Damn," Ronan said, running his hand through his hair, "I knew you would take it that way, and I can't explain because it might mess things up. If it's any consolation, I'm not a werewolf, exactly."

"What?"

"Yeah, I have an interesting combination of genes. Anyway, I transform at the full moon like any werewolf, but I'm also something like an Animagus."

He transformed for them right in the classroom. He looked almost docile, sitting like a dog in the aisle between the desks. The vision was complete when he scratched behind his ear. Remus watched all this in silence, a relieved smile on his face which Ronan matched when he transformed back.

"Okay, one down, two to go," James said. "Who's next?"

"Alex is definitely Ron and Hermione's daughter," Harry commented. They both choked, blushed, and looked pointedly away from each other. Alex giggled at them and Harry continued, "Come off it, you two. We all know you secretly go off and snog each other whenever you can."

Lis snorted, "And we all know that's what you want to do with Ginny."

"Stupid, noble git," muttered Ginny, giving him a playful shove. Luckily, the only people who heard her were the people who understood the comment.

Sirius placed an arm on Lis' shoulder, "And this lovely flower can only be Harry and Ginny's."

Leaning over to Harry, Lily whispered, "I'm touched that you named her after me." More loudly, she said, "I bet it was a surprise when you ended up here instead of the Rebel's time."

Lis shrugged, "It doesn't make any difference to us. It's not actually that different here, except that the Wizarding World doesn't worship 'the Chosen One' here."

Harry stiffened next to Lily. Wanting to know what was going on with him, she went against all her instincts and asked, "Who's 'the Chosen One?'"

"The man prophesied to kill Voldemort. He's in every book in our time, even Astronomy textbooks. They all say he's the most powerful wizard that ever lived, even more powerful than Merlin."

Now Harry was staring in disbelief, as were Ginny and Hermione. Ron was looking more like he was trying hard not to laugh.

"So, you're saying," began James, "that there is-"

"-will be-"

"-will be a prophecy about the person who is destined to kill Voldemort."

"Yes. He does it before the age of eighteen, too." Now everyone was paying rapt attention, especially Harry. "Apparently Voldemort had a few 'treasures' hidden in places from his memories that gave him power." She chuckled at something she remembered. "What's ironic is that he actually inherited one of them from his godfather, who was the last of his family."

"How do you figure that?" Harry asked urgently.

"His godfather's brother found it. Voldemort got into a real tizzy about that one, killed the poor guy himself."

"You're right..." he mused. "You're right!"

Lis smirked smugly, "Of course I'm right. I had the privilege of hearing the story first hand."

"This is all fine and dandy, but can you talk about something that involves us now?" asked Sirius, a tinge of impatience in his voice. "The family reunion is getting a bit boring."

"No, that's not for a few weeks," put in James off-handedly.

"Why didn't you mention it earlier?" Harry and Lis cried.

"I only remembered it just now. It happens on the last weekend of this month which also happens to be a full moon. McGonagall gave me permission to leave but I wasn't going to go." He glanced at Remus, who nodded. "Did you want to go?" They both nodded emphatically. "Alright, I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Peter left the room, hanging his head dejectedly. Once again, his friends had forgotten him completely. Then, they had sided with Harry over him. He knew that Harry hated him. He could accept that; there were just some people that he rubbed the wrong way. But James listened to Harry, this kid he barely knew, over him, his best friend!

"It must be hard..." said a voice. Peter spun around. A few Slytherin Seventh Years were congregated near a statue. "Your friends dumped you for the James-clone and all the spawn that came with him even though you've been loyal to them all these years." The speaker smirked, realizing that he had all but read Peter's thoughts. Who knows? Maybe he used Legilimency, Peter realized. "Come with us. We believe in the Golden Rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Be loyal to us, we'll be loyal to you."

He held out his hand. Peter hesitated, then took it. His friends had betrayed him, so it was only fit that he return the act.


	11. Revenge

**Author's Note: **Ick, ick, ick! I hate author's notes. Unfortunately, this one is totally necessary. This chapter is a bit explicit. Don't worry though, I've marked the explicit section so you can skip it without losing the content of the chapter. Just keep reading if you do decide to skip it, even if it's a bit confusing at first.

* * *

Chapter 11: Revenge

Peter quickly grew to enjoy his new friends. Or...colleagues, as they preferred to be called. Colleagues was a better word anyway. The connection they shared was more business-like. But, that also meant he could predict how they would treat him. If he was loyal to them, they would be loyal to him. They wouldn't desert him on the words of a pathetic new kid.

Another reason why he liked them was that they knew about revenge. Not immature, prank-you-because-you-insulted-me revenge, but full-blown, conniving revenge. In fact, this was the reason he was meeting his colleagues in the Room of Requirement tonight, to discuss revenge.

He quickly checked the map to make sure noone was following him, especially his former friends. Not a soul. Wiping the map clean, he stowed it in his robe. He hid all of the Marauder's secrets from his colleagues, not to protect the Marauders, but to have an advantage over his colleagues should they betray him.

Three times he paced the hall, thinking _I need a place to plot_. As expected, the door appeared and Peter entered to find that he was the last to arrive.

"You are late," one of them stated. "I would think you would be the earliest, seeing as you called this meeting."

Peter started to shrink back, but something emboldened him, "I had trouble sneaking out," he retorted, "It is more difficult for me to do, after all. You don't have to worry about your roommates."

"It doesn't matter, he's here now," Snape cut in. "We are finally getting revenge on James Potter, I would think you could forgive Wormtail for being late. So, Wormtail, you tell us how best to do so and we will do it."

"Lily," he answered immediately. "That's the way to get to him, through Lily."

"Perhaps we could convince him to commit an unfaithful act against her. Even if she forgives him, he would never forgive himself," another offered.

Peter shook his head, "That _would_ be devastating, but he would never do anything against Lily."

"Force him, then. Get Lily out of the way for a while and feed James a love potion. The only problem is finding a girl to do it."

"Veronica Barlow!" exclaimed Peter.

"What makes you think that slut will help us?"

"You obviously missed the scene last Saturday," sneered Vladimir Salsen. "She tried to ask James to Hogsmeade, but Lily pushed her out of the way and snogged him in front of everyone."

"Then we need to enlist her services," Snape said.

"I will convince her. I can also keep Lily busy. Assuming Snape will brew the potion, that covers all our bases. The only other task is keeping his flock of followers busy, which should be simple. Agreed?"

Everyone murmured agreement and filtered out of the door. For a brief moment, Peter worried for Lily's safety. But, he shrugged it off. Vladimir wouldn't betray his trust.

* * *

"What do you want, Salsen?"

Oh, how she annoyed him. She was the best shag he had ever had, but she was also the person who grated his nerves the most. Why couldn't she be as submissive as she was in bed now?

"Revenge on James Potter."

"I only want to shag Potter, not get vengeance."

"It involves Lily Evans."

"...I'm listening."

"You slip James a love potion that Snape brewed and have him to yourself for the day. I keep Lily busy for the day. My colleagues keep the peanut gallery busy in the meantime."

She paused to think for a minute. "It sounds good, but what makes you think Lily will even consider going with you?"

He grinned, "She will go with me, willing or not."

* * *

Saturday dawned bright and cheery. Lily was amazed that the rest of the week had been rather uneventful compared to the first few days. It gave her time to grasp the fact that three generations of Potter were running around Hogwarts together. Lis was every bit as cunning as James and had as much raw power as Harry, plus all the feminine qualities of Ginny.

James had managed to come up with a clever coverup story to get Lis and Harry into the reunion, which both of them were excited for. Harry explained that the only living relatives he had were Petunia and her family, which might as well be not having relatives at all. She hoped he would never meet her. It wasn't that she hated Petunia. But Petunia hated her because she was a witch and Lily doubted that would change anytime soon. With her luck, Petunia would graduate from convincing to beating the magic out. The only relatives he had just had to be the worst ones. What could have happened to their families?

Currently, Lily was heading down to breakfast alone. She had woken up early and couldn't go back to sleep, so she got dressed and left everyone still sleeping. Apparently, noone else was up in the castle either because she saw noone walking to the Great Hall. Noone was around to see her collapse after being Stunned or hear her hit the floor. Noone was any the wiser when Vladimir carried her off.

* * *

Peter was shaking. Sure, he had pulled many pranks with the Marauders before, but he'd never been able to pull anything on them. Granted, it was because he normally backed out, but still... They knew him better than anyone else and would be able to tell that he was up to something. He just hoped they wouldn't notice. At least he had thought to hide the map.

James sat down and poured himself some pumpkin juice. Peter gripped the potion in his hand tighter. Luckily, Severus had thought to put an Unbreakable charm on the vial. Now Peter just needed to find a chance to slip it in unnoticed.

"Where's Lily?" James asked the table at random. Peter knew, of course. By a stroke of luck, Lily was already with Vladimir and out of the way. By another stroke of luck, Peter saw his chance. Everyone was looking over heads to try and spot Lily. Quick as a hippogriff, he poured it in.

"I heard her leave the dormitory ages ago," replied Lis. "She's probably off doing homework or something."

Sighing, James picked up his flask and began drinking. Peter caught Veronica's eye and nodded ever so slightly to her. She got up to leave, careful to catch James' eye in the process. He followed her exit with a mad gleam of passion in his eye.

"I think I'll go look for her," James said, getting up to leave. Of course, he wasn't actually going to do that. That was just an excuse so that noone would try to stop him. They definitely would not approve of him shagging Veronica and would forcibly keep him from her if they wanted to.

Just as he expected, she was waiting for him in the Entrance Hall. She crooked her finger at him - very sexily, he might add - and fled down a secret passageway that led to a secluded area of the dungeons. Secluded was fine with him; no interruptions that way.

She slipped into an empty room. He followed eagerly, shutting and locking the door. She seized his shirt collar and pulled his lips onto hers.

* * *

**WARNING! SEXUAL CONTENT! Read at your own discretion! Skip ahead to the SAFE POINT if you want to avoid the sexual content, but still get all the content of the story.**

* * *

Lily woke up suddenly, as if Ennervated. She tried to remember what had happened and realized that she probably _was_ Ennervated, by the person who Stunned her in the first place. Involuntarily, she shuddered as the gravity of her situation hit her.

Someone, a male, laughed sinisterly behind her. She tried to turn to face him, but found herself tied to a chair. To her horror, she was only in her underclothes, too. Desperately, she groped for her wand, even though she knew it wouldn't be there. She began struggling against the magical ropes, which only tightened.

"By all means, keep struggling. I like my women feisty." Vladimir Salsen came around to face her. He roughly grabbed her shoulders and pressed his tongue into her mouth. She bit down hard and he quickly withdrew, swearing loudly. She spit the blood out of her mouth, into his face.

"It would be much easier for both of us if you would just cooperate."

"What makes you think you can get away with this?"

He laughed again, sending another chill down her spine. "Even if your friends manage to escape my colleagues, we are in the Room of Requirement. They cannot enter unless they manage to guess the exact purpose that I have given this room."

"James will find a way."

"I'm sure he would, if he cared to save you. But, the only thing he cares about now is Veronica Barlow."

As hard as she tried, she couldn't keep the tears from leaking out of her eyes.

* * *

James was so giddy with passion, he couldn't see straight. Clothes were strewn about the room. Currently, he and Veronica were locked in a kiss. He wanted to pull off her bra, but the kiss was so wonderful. His hand groped blindly behind her, trying to find the clasp. She pulled away and did it for him instead, then pulled down her silk panties.

"Oh, James," she moaned, "I want you so bad."

He felt his passions arouse to their full intensity. Slowly, he reached to pull down his boxers. But, something made him hesitate.

"What's the matter? Don't you want me?"

"I do," he cried, "but...I...want to wait for the right moment."

"You're a virgin?" she exclaimed.

"Yes."

She pulled closer to him and started stroking his chest. "Don't be afraid. If you love me, this _is_ the right moment."

Her hand strayed down to his boxers. Little did she know that a battle was raging in James. He wasn't sure whether or not he did love her. Lily kept invading his thoughts. He grabbed her hand and pulled away.

"No."

She frowned, "Why not?"

"I...I don't love you."

"What?"

His heart broke as the battle came to a conclusion and he threw off the effects of the love potion. "I love Lily."

"_What?_"

"I love Lily, you sick, little whore!"

He grabbed his wand and Stunned her before grabbing his clothes and dashing out the door. Something told him that Lily was in danger.

* * *

Tears still leaked out of Lily's eyes. Vladimir had been either tormenting her body or tormenting her mind the whole time. When he wasn't trying to kiss any of her bare flesh, he reminded her that James was with Veronica...alone...under the influence of a love potion. As long as Vladimir didn't go any farther, though, she would wait for a chance to escape.

He pulled away and stood in front of her. He was breathing heavily and had a mad gleam in his eye. He advanced on her, pulling down his pants. A bed suddenly materialized in the room. Now she started to panic. Her legs were tied to the chair so she couldn't even try to kick him in the crotch.

He leaned against the back of her chair, bringing her feet off the floor a bit. Inspiration hit her. She edged her chair around, careful not to let Vladimir notice, until her foot was between his legs. Then, she slammed back in her chair, toppling it to the floor, bringing her foot into his crotch. He collapsed, gasping for air.

Lily saw her wand lying on the floor near her clothes. She wished it was in her hand...no, she _needed_ it in her hand. Then, it _was_ in her hand. Immediately, she Stunned Vladimir. Then, she began working on her bonds, thinking only that she had to find James.

* * *

**SAFE POINT**

* * *

James sprinted up the castle as quick as he could. Breakfast was over, so people were milling about everywhere. He took as many secret passages as he could to avoid them. Finally, he burst through the Portrait Hole and ran up to his dormitory.

Sirius followed him to find him rooting through his trunk. He noticed the smeared makeup, messier-than-normal hair, and clothes - or lack of - and chuckled. "I take it you found Lily."

"No, I didn't," James groaned. Several tears dropped into the trunk. Even if he had been magically drugged, he still betrayed Lily. He couldn't let anything else happen to her.

"Dammit! Where's the map?"

Harry came up the stairs, asking, "Is everything all right here?"

"No! Lily's missing and I can't find the bloody map!"

Harry quickly whipped the map out of his pocket. Grabbing it from him, James cried, "Why didn't you tell me you took it?"

"This is mine, from my time."

He groaned again. Damn time travel. "Just help me look."

The three of them frantically searched the map for Lily. After ten minutes, James exclaimed, "She's not here!"

"You don't think someone took her off Hogwarts grounds, do you?" Sirius whispered.

"No," muttered Harry. "Look who else is missing, Vladimir Salsen." - James paled - "I bet she's in the Room of Requirement."

"We never did figure out how to put that on the map," Sirius confided. But, James was already sprinting out the door.

In what seemed like no time at all, James was skidding around the corner into the corridor the Room of Requirement was in. He stopped in front of where the door should be. What type of room would Vladimir need? His face soured as he realized what to do. He began pacing, holding his wand tightly, thinking _I need a place to play with a Mudblood._

As he made his second pass, the door appeared. That shouldn't have happened. It took three passes, not two. Someone must be coming out, then. He lowered into a defensive stance and raised his wand. But, it wasn't Vladimir who came out. It was Lily. She was bruised, rumpled, shaking, and in her underwear, but it was her.

She dropped what was in her hands when see saw him and he wrapped his arms around her to keep her from collapsing in relief. In the end, his knees buckled anyway and they slid to the floor, crying into each other's shoulders. Something about feeling their bare flesh against each other comforted them both.

"I'm sorry, Lily, I'm sorry."

"It's okay, James, it wasn't your fault."

"Veronica..."

"I know."

"I didn't...I couldn't. Did he? I'll kill the bastard!"

"No, he didn't."

They sat together, just holding each other, for a few more minutes before Harry and Lis came and draped some blankets over them. Dumbledore followed them a few moments later, anger replacing the twinkle in his eye.

"What is going on here? Harry tells me that you flew into Gryffindor Tower dressed in nothing but your drawers looking for Lily. I realize you are destined to be married in the future, but that does not mean I will condone procreation in my castle halls."

Harry's face turned a deep crimson, clashing horribly with his eyes. "N-no, Professor, I didn't mean it like that!" He continued to splutter in embarrassment, until Lily's soft chuckling stopped him. This, more than anything, softened Dumbledore's expression towards them. That didn't mean he wasn't still angry. In fact, now that he realized what the situation was, he was down right furious.

"Vladimir Salsen," Lily began. "He Stunned me on my way to breakfast and dragged me to the Room of Requirement. I was tied to a chair, I was lucky to escape when I did. He's still in there, Stunned."

James gave her hand a squeeze and steeled himself to show the same bravery Lily had. "Someone slipped me a love potion, somehow, for Veronica Barlow. It was really strong. She tried to get me to..." His voice broke. Lily returned his squeeze and he went on. "That's when I snapped out of it."

Lis had tears of fury streaming down her face. Harry's was contorted into an ugly frown. "Someone wouldn't leave us alone, we don't know who, causing trouble for us wherever we went. We went to the Common Room to escape whoever it was."

It took Dumbledore a few minutes to speak, but his voice was enough to chill their hearts when he finally did, "Veronica and Vladimir will be expelled. If I can manage it, I will also have the Wizengamot charge them with kidnapping. I only regret I cannot punish all who were involved in this conspiracy." In a gentler tone, he said, "I am very proud of both of you for how you've handled this. Regardless of the temporal situations, you are still Seventh Years. Get cleaned up and then go to the Hospital Wing. I will explain the situation to Madam Pomfrey."

They both got up shakily with help from Harry and Lis and headed towards the prefects bathroom. As an afterthought, Dumbledore added, "Separately, mind you."

They chuckled. No matter. They would just take quick baths.


	12. Potter Family Reunion

Chapter 12: Potter Family Reunion

Vladimir Salsen was busy packing his things. He didn't mind being expelled; he didn't need his NEWT's for the 'career' he chose. What miffed him the most was that the Mudblood completely embarrassed him, and before he got to shag her, too! The slut didn't hold up her end of the bargain, either. Now both of them were being charged with conspiracy to commit rape, as well as an assault charge for him. Funnily enough, the events still had the desired effects.

Absorbed in his thoughts, Vladimir didn't notice his roommates come in.

"Good evening, Salsen," Snape whispered, moving out of the shadows around the room.

Vladimir jumped. "Snape, you bastard! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?"

Snape's lips split in a feral grin, showing his teeth and making them seem pointed. His other roommates left the shadows, as well, and surrounded Vladimir. The lights threw shadows on their faces, making them more intimidating.

"What...what's going on," asked Salsen, starting to get nervous. Sweat dripped down his temple, despite the cold, dungeon temperature.

"You were supposed to keep Lily busy, not try and rape her," bit Snape, a venom in his voice that Vladimir had heard enough to know that nothing good would come from it being directed at him.

Vladimir huffed. "What's your point? She's just a Mudblood."

The circle closed on Vladimir. "Pettigrew didn't want her to get hurt. That was the condition for his help."

"Poor Peter has agreed not to rat us out," another voice addressed him. "But, his fragile mind is being tortured by his conscience. It is only proper that the same be done to you."

"No! NO! _NOOOOOOOOO!_"

* * *

Vladimir Salsen left Hogwarts on a stretcher, having run into a forest creature that didn't appreciate being run into. At least, that's what it seemed like. Noone gave it a second thought, though, as the days before the reunion slipped by quickly. 

Not a day passed when James and Lily weren't found together. The revenge plot _had_ damaged both of them, but they were recovering quickly. James had adopted an annoying habit of pouring love potion antidote into all his drinks – Harry hoped this didn't evolve into drinking only from a hip flask – and Lily rarely went anywhere alone, not that anyone ever left her alone anymore. A good thing did come from this; James and Lily were more in love than ever.

Finally, the day of the reunion came, a bright, beautiful Saturday. Harry was currently looking at himself in the mirror, nervously examining his dress robes that James was letting him borrow. "How do I look?" he asked James.

"Exactly like me," James deadpanned. "Don't worry! You have my personality minus my addiction to pranks. Everyone will love you for not spiking the punch."

"That's another thing. What if they figure us out?" Harry reached for a comb and started running it through his hair.

"We've gone over this." – James looked in the mirror at his hair, – "You looking like me is the reason we think we're related." – decided it wasn't messy enough, – "You and Lis are siblings and noone will question that because of your eyes. This is the same reason Lily _isn't_ coming." – and ran his hand through it. "Stop worrying."

Harry was still trying to control his mop. "But, what if-"

"Stop trying to get it to lie flat!" James exclaimed, grabbing the comb and breaking it in two. "It never will." He forced Harry to look at him. "Why are you so nervous?"

Grimacing, Harry looked away. "I've never met any of your family."

James goggled at him. "Not even my parents?" Harry shook his head miserably. "But..._how?_"

"I don't know."

"Well, we'll just have to make up for that today." James steered Harry down the stairs to the Common Room.

Lily and Ginny were in charge of helping Lis and the three were already in the Common Room, waiting. The sight of Lis stopped both boys in their tracks.

"Wow," Harry breathed. "Lis, you look wonderful."

Finding a dress for Lis had nearly put all the girls into hysterics. You try finding a dress that matches startlingly green eyes _and_ flaming red hair. They had finally managed to find a cute, black, summer dress, though there were so many white flowers on it that it seemed more like a white dress. The flowers looked suspiciously like lilies, coincidentally. A think, black ribbon was sewn on the front at the waist, leaving the ends loose to tie around back. The neck line was a horizontal cut with thin shoulder straps. She wore strappy, black heels on her feet. Her hair was straight and tamed, pulled half-back in a ponytail, which brought attention to her face and her beautiful eyes.

Lis smiled and ran to Harry, pulling him into a hug. "Thanks, Dad," she whispered into his ear. Harry heard a tremor of sadness in her voice and felt her reluctance to let go of him. The feeling was uncomfortably familiar to him and he had to bite back a sob.

"Hey! What about me?" James pouted.

Lis pulled away slowly and turned to James, grinning. "Did you want a hug, too, Gramps?"

"You're lucky your hair is up," he replied, settling for slapping her arm lightly instead of messing up her hair. She hugged him and James was reminded of the emotions in Harry's hugs. Either they were both naturally emotional...or they had both suffered something terrible. Mentally sighing, he resigned himself to the fact that he wasn't going to have his questions answered anytime soon.

Letting go of Lis, James went to kiss Lily goodbye. Harry came next to hug her, allowing Lily a chance to try to tame his hair, unsuccessfully of course. After Harry kissed Ginny goodbye, the three of them left for the reunion.

* * *

Potters of all ages and looks had gathered at James' home: Potter Manor. Harry and Lis couldn't help but gape at the resplendent mansion and sprawling grounds. It even had a small Quidditch pitch complete with stands, though it wasn't currently in use. They would have to change that. 

"You live here?" Harry breathed, incredulous. Lis merely nodded in agreement to his question, too speechless to do otherwise.

"Until I graduate from Hogwarts," James replied. "Then I'm setting out on my own." He smirked. "Even if my parents don't approve." Furrowing his brow, he frowned at Harry. "Haven't you been here before?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I don't think this even exists in my time. Otherwise I would've inherited it."

Luckily, James didn't catch the last bit. "You would've what?"

Wide-eyed, Harry hastened to say, "Er...I would've been told about it." Lis stomped on his toe, her way of subtly saying _Watch your mouth, you bloody idiot!_

This only deepened James' frown. "You haven't met any of my family. You haven't seen the manor. What could have happened?" He sighed. "I know, I know. You don't want to talk about it. C'mon, I see Dad, erm, my Dad."

James ran to an older man with salt and pepper hair, though it was familiarly messy, and embraced him. When James pulled away, the man clapped him on the shoulder and turned to greet his guests. His face was lined with age, but it still held a youthful cheerfulness. Those smiling eyes widened when they landed on Harry.

"My God! You weren't exaggerating, James," the man said, a large grin forming on his face. "Mary!" he yelled into the house. "Mary, come see this."

"What is it, Harold?" came a woman's voice. A slender woman followed, hazel eyes shining with a motherly kindness. "James, dear, you're here." She hugged James and kissed his forehead, much to his embarrassment. "And you must be Harry and Lis. Welcome." She hugged both of them as well.

Harold came to embrace them next. "Yes, yes. Welcome, welcome! By George, if you two aren't Potters, neither am I. There's no doubting the famous Potter hair." Chuckling, he tousled Harry's hair. "Never seen eyes that remarkably green before, though. Must be your mother's side."

"How terrible, your parents died when you were young, so James says." Mary cupped their faces with a hand, sorrow in her eyes. "You will always be welcome here." Suddenly, her expression brightened. "Oh! James, doesn't that lovely girl you've been pining after have green eyes."

James swallowed. "Yes."

Now Harold laughed, a full, guttural laugh. "Perhaps if you have children with her, they'll look just like Harry and Lis here."

Mary sighed happily. "I would love to meet my grandchildren sometime soon."

Without thinking, James grinned and replied, "That might happen sooner than you think." Again, Lis subtly warned James.

The effect on his parents was less than desirable, however. Their faces darkened and Mary placed a hand over her heart. Harold spoke in a quiet, pained voice, "James, you said that...that _girl_..." The last word was spoken with a venom that didn't seem possible from this cheerful, aging man.

James' face contorted with disgust. "Nonono, I didn't," he reassured them. "Not with Veronica. Not with _anyone_, yet." They both exhaled deeply. "That _did_ help me realize how much I care for Lily, though. Which reminds me, Mum, could I have your ring?" He mustered all the dignity he could before continuing, "I'm ready for it now."

James' first romance had been in his Fourth Year. Being young and naïve, he had thought his infatuation was love. Needless to say, that relationship had ended badly and he hardened his heart against being hurt again. He pursued girls as a game, which turned him into the prick Lily had seen for so many years. So, he waited for the right girl, the one that would be able to break through the barriers he had erected.

Anyway, after that first relationship, his mother had promised him her ring on the condition that he was absolutely sure about what he used it for. Was he sure? What a ridiculously laughable question!

Mary's eyes misted, but she managed not to shed tears. Wordlessly, she took her ring off her left ring finger and closed it in James' hand. He looked over at Harry and Lis, a giddy grin back on his face, and winked, his way of saying _I'll explain later_.

"James, mate, you finally made it!" yelled a large, young man that worked his way through the crowd towards them.

"Oiy! Mark!" James laughed. "Come here, meet Harry and Lis."

"The two long lost relatives?" Mark laughed back. He was so cheerful that noone around him could keep from laughing with him. He enthusiastically pumped their arms up and down in greeting.

"Those are the ones."

"Hey, we were just about to start a game down at the pitch. We filled your position when we heard you weren't coming..."

"You got another Chaser?"

Mark managed to smile and frown at the same time. "You can still watch. Unless you find someone crazy enough to Seek against you."

Grinning, Harry raised his hand. "I'm pretty crazy."

"This is going to be good," Lis said, rubbing her hands together. Her eyes gleamed with excitement.

* * *

An hour later, the score was 110-120, Harry's team leading. Not that James cared about the score, not this game. This game was about Harry and him, they both knew. 

Harry was currently searching the other side of the pitch. It was riskier leaving him alone, but James would never stoop to following and neither, it seemed, would Harry.

A flicker of gold flashed over his shoulder and streaked in Harry's direction. James sped after it, unhappily noting that Harry was doing the same.

Right before they collided, the Snitch plummeted downward into the game play. James and Harry dodged between six Chasers, two Beaters, two Bludgers, and one Quaffle. They became as good as Chasers seeing that they passed the Quaffle around as much as the others. The small, golden ball headed towards the goal posts, passing through the hoops. Dodging the speeding Seekers, the Keeper couldn't stop the Quaffle; 120-120.

The wily Snitch darted upward again, climbing high above the pitch. James and Harry separated, each coming up from an opposite side. Stopping suddenly, the Snitch hovered, taunting them. They fell for it, going for another collision course. Their hands reached out, fingers spread. This time, the Snitch wasn't moving, wasn't going to prevent a collision.

Snapping their hands over the Snitch like a bear trap, James and Harry accidentally locked fingers, creating a pivot point between them. They spun off their brooms, just managing to grab the handles with their free hands. Disbelieving, they glanced at each other, up at the Snitch still clasped between their upraised arms, back at each other, and laughed. Even though they were in midair, clutching to their brooms with one hand.

"We caught the Snitch," Harry snorted.

James grinned, "And when the Snitch is caught, the game ends."

"The Seeker, or Seekers, who catches it earns 150 points for his team."

"So the score is 270-270. A draw."

"Dad?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks for bringing me."

"No problem."

"Now, let's get down from here."

"Agreed."

* * *

James, Harry and Lis had to leave to get back to Hogwarts. The rest of the family was spending the night at the manor. But, before James left, he grabbed a red rose form the garden. 

Entering the Common Room, Harry and Lis gabbled on about this relative or that relative. James was oblivious to this. He only noticed Lily get out of an armchair by the fire. Kissing her on the cheek, he dropped the rose in her hand and hastened up the stairs.

Lily's hand automatically reached up to touch her cheek. Dazed, she looked down at the rose in her hand. A ring and a small note were tied onto the stem. Untying it, her breath caught in her throat as she examined the ring that fell into her hand. Trembling, the other hand unfolded the note. It read: Marry me?

(**A/N: **I couldn't resist this author's note...twitch. That was not my proposal idea, it was my dad's. ;D)

Immediately, she slipped the ring on her hand and briefly hugged the rose to her chest. Dropping the note for Harry and Lis, she raced up the stairs and found James on one of the landings.

She stared at him, completely at a loss at what to do next. Her mouth formed words and grinned at James of its own accord. "That's a stupid question."

He grinned back. "I wanted to make it official." His hands made their way to her waist. Her hands made their way around his neck. Their foreheads touched.

"I love you, James."

"I love you, too, Lily."

Their lips met. For several long moments – or it might have been half an hour – or possibly several sunlit days – they kissed.

"That has to be the sweetest proposal I've ever heard of," came Lis' voice. The kiss ended and they settled to resting foreheads together, again.

"I wonder if he would mind if I used it," Harry mused. This brought soft chuckles to their lips.

They heard footsteps, the unmistakable creak of a couch, and indistinguishable murmurs.

"Let's get closer," James whispered, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out.

Lily hesitated. "We shouldn't."

"We might find out a bit more about what's happened to them."

"...Alright."

They quietly worked their way down the steps, safely under the cloak, until they found a comfortable spot to sit together. They couldn't see much, but they could hear, which was all they needed.

"-wonderful," Harry's voice cut in. "I can't believe not one of them is alive. Do you know what happened?"

"Yes," Lis said with a strangled sob, "but I can't say."

Harry sighed, "I know... What about you? Are you enjoying yourself?"

"I...don't know what you mean."

"You're here for the same reason I am."

"...Yes."

There was a rustling of cloaks and some creaking. Nearly undetectable, also, was some sobbing. It sounded like Harry was comforting his crying daughter.

"Hey," Harry whispered, "it's better than nothing."

"Yes."

"At least you don't have a scar."

"Yet."

"Yet?"

"The bad guys got smart. They don't use that curse on me. I tend to use that to my advantage and fling myself in front of anyone and everyone." She chuckled wryly.

"It won't end with him?"

Now Lis sighed. "There will _always_ be evil in the world. Not even you can change that, Dad."

Harry and Lis lapsed into a comfortable silence. This annoyed James to no end; they ended their conversation without saying anything James and Lily could decipher.

Just then, the Portrait Hole swung open and a wizened, old voice said, "Harry, Lis! I didn't expect you to be up."

"Professor Dumbledore!" they yelled as loud as they dared, which actually wasn't that loud. What on earth was the Headmaster doing in Gryffindor Tower in the middle of the night?

"Harry, would you please wake up James and bring him here?" Dumbledore's voice sounded alarmingly weary. James and Lily moved farther down the steps, compromising safety for a view of the three. Now they saw Dumbledore and his downcast eyes, devoid of their normal twinkle.

"No problem," Harry mumbled, shaken by Dumbledore's expression. He approached the steps and, for some reason, smiled. After climbing a few, he turned back around. In doing so, he had placed himself uncomfortably close to them. To their horror, his foot was on a corner of the cloak, preventing escape.

"Lis, if your kid and grandkid were discussing the future, thinking they're alone, what would you do?"

"Eavesdrop," she replied immediately, grinning as well. James' heart nearly stopped. They knew! They had deliberately danced around the topics to tease Lily and him. Now Harry had them trapped. Either they would have to reveal themselves, or Harry would.

"I would, too, so you must get that from me. But...who do I get it from?" Harry placed his elbow squarely on James' head and leaned on it like he would a banister.

"Fine!" James threw off the cloak. "We couldn't resist, which you know perfectly well."

Dumbledore chuckled, not at all upset with their antics. He motioned for them to sit.

Sighing, Dumbledore appeared to be steeling himself for what he had to say. He didn't even notice Lily. "Potter Manor was attacked by Death Eaters a few hours ago."

James' blood ran cold. "No." This couldn't be happening. No matter what Harry and Lis said.

"The mansion magically collapsed in on itself. The few that survived the house falling met Death Eaters. There were...no survivors."

James' ears rang. He became numb to everything around him. He didn't see Lis look away in shame. He didn't see Harry's face contort in rage even as tears streamed down his face. He didn't feel Lily tugging at his arm. He didn't feel the tears that silently trickled down his own face.

Only two words registered: No survivors.

Shuddering, James pulled out of his shock and collapsed onto Lily's shoulder. He sobbed into it while she stroked his hair, whispering in his ear. He didn't stop when Dumbledore slowly made his way out of the Common Room or when Harry and Lis got them pillows and blankets before heading up to bed. Lily held him until his sobs turned to snores and drifted off to sleep herself.


	13. Once Defied

Chapter 13: Once Defied

**MASSACRE AT POTTER MANOR  
****Ancient family nearly wiped out by Death Eaters**

That's what the headlines read the next day. Soon, all of Hogwarts Castle knew of the tragedy that had befallen James, as well as the possibility that Harry and Lis were related to him, however distantly. It made for a subdued breakfast.

"Ginny says that Harry is still in shock a bit," Hermione whispered to the few at the table that morning, "but mainly he wants to avoid people."

"I don't blame him," Ronan chuckled humorlessly. "He gets plenty of attention as it is."

Remus looked sideways at his son. "Why's that?"

"Quidditch, a couple interviews, showing up some Slytherins, stuff like that," said Ronan airily.

"I hope Harry's alright, though," muttered Sirius. "James was so far in shock this morning that Lily had to take him to the hospital wing."

"Lis doesn't look too good, either," said Ron. "I saw Alex trying to calm her down."

Ronan sighed, "She feels guilty about knowing. I don't know what she thinks she could have done, warn them to soften the blow or something. Alex _was_ always better at this type of stuff. 'Spose she gets it from you, Hermione."

"Shhh!" everyone shushed him. Other people were curiously watching them, _Daily Prophets _still clutched in their hands.

"C'mon, Remus," Sirius said, jumping up. "Let's go check on James."

"We should go find Harry, too, Ron," Hermione agreed, pulling Ron away from the table.

"Guess I'll go see Lis," murmured Ronan, not wanting to be left alone in the Great Hall, a prime target for questioning.

Sirius and Remus were on their way to the Hospital Wing when a shout made them stop.

"James, no!" Lily cried.

They turned the corner to find Lily struggling with James, who had his wand out and a hard look on his face.

"Stay out of this, Lily," he said angrily, shoving her out of the way, and took off running.

She glanced down the hall and spotted Remus and Sirius. "Stop him!"

"Hold on, there, Prongs," Sirius said, moving to block James' path. "Let's just talk for–" But James shoved him aside, too. Whirling around, Sirius dived at James' knees, bringing him crashing to the ground.

"Let go," James snarled, aiming a hex at Sirius. Remus darted forward and wrestled the wand out of James' hand.

"What's gotten into you, James?" Remus panted.

"Those damn Slytherins, that's what!" spat James. "Snivellus, Bellatrix, the Lestrange brothers. They'll all be Death Eaters, just you wait, unless we do something about it now."

"What will that do? It won't bring back you family, it'll just land you in Azkaban. Is that what you want?"

James gave one last shudder before falling silent. "You're right," he murmured. "They're not coming back."

Just then, Harry appeared from the direction of the Hospital Wing. He was still gloomier than normal, but appeared in control of his grief. His eyes widened as he took in the scene.

Lily went over to help James up, which was pretty much trying to move dead weight.

"What's the use anymore?" James asked. "What reason do I have to live now?"

Harry stared at James for half a second, then slapped him hard across the face.

Wincing, James looked up at Harry. "That's a good reason." Grinning, he continued, "Thanks."

Cocking his own grin, Harry replied, "I'd be a bit put out if you committed suicide."

James chuckled wearily, "Yeah, that wouldn't be too good for your health, would it? I'm being kept alive by my time traveling son who wouldn't exist if he wasn't here to stop me."

"Wild, isn't it?" Lis said tiredly, coming around the corner. "If you only knew how many time loops we're creating... Anyway, you're not going on a suicidal rampage, then?"

"No, not anymore. I shouldn't've lost it like that."

"It's understandable, don't worry. I'm just sorry I forgot to warn you. Remus told that story once, though he didn't mention us being here."

Lily studied Lis and Harry closely. "What about you two? How are you doing?"

"Managing," Harry muttered, Lis nodding in agreement.

* * *

Recovering over the next few weeks proved more difficult than before, especially for James. Hopefully, the upcoming Hogsmeade visit would help, but as Ron aptly noticed: "Everything happens on Saturday."

It seemed Peter might have left them for good, too. He spent most of the time avoiding them and whenever anyone saw him, he had an anguished look on his face, as if he was struggling to make a difficult decision.

The day was bright and clear as the group walked down the sloping lawns. The mood, however, was quite the opposite.

Lily sadly rubbed her naked finger. She had removed the engagement ring, for now, for James' sake. It made her heart bleed to see her love hurting so much.

"How about some butterbeers?" Lily suggested.

Glumly, they entered the Three Broomsticks and found seats. Even Rosmerta seemed affected by their mood; she didn't joke, tease, _or_ flirt with them when she brought their butterbeers.

Suddenly, Harry flinched, slopping butterbeer onto the table. "Oh God," he whispered, his eyes wide and fearful.

Seconds later, people on the street erupted in panic, running and screaming. Harry immediately stood, grabbing Lis as he went.

"Get Dumbledore," he muttered, pulling out a silvery cloak and throwing it over her as they passed through the door. A second later, the shadow of a bird passed across the window.

The Rebels shared a quick look before following, pulling out their wands as they went. Other customers were peering anxiously out the windows, trying to decide if staying or running would be safer.

"Let's go," said Ronan, fear replacing the wolfish gleam in his eyes.

Pandemonium met them as they exited the doors. Several curses flew past them, blowing holes in buildings if they didn't hit their targets.

"What's going on?" Lily screamed.

Harry appeared in front of them. His face was grimly set as he said, "Death Eaters. Split up."

He ran off down the street, ducking so Ginny could fire a Reductor Curse at a Death Eater. Lily and James ran after him as the others scattered.

A short way down, a large Death Eater Apparated in front of them and cast a curse at Harry, who fell to the ground, screaming and twitching.

"_Expelliarmus!_" James bellowed. The Death Eater blocked it, but released the curse on Harry. From the ground, Harry cried, "_Stupefy!_"

Lily rushed toward Harry to help him up. He had just straightened when he cried in pain and clutched his scar. Lily stared wildly around, trying to find what had hurt her son. To her horror, she met the scarlet eyes of Lord Voldemort.

He laughed with a high, cold laugh that froze Lily's heart. "The last of the Potters has some fight in him. That will make finally erasing such an irksome bloodline all the more satisfying."

James' eyes blazed with rage. "_Stupefy!_" he screamed.

Only James' Quidditch reflexes saved him as Voldemort deflected his spell back at him. James raised his wand to try again, but a flick of Voldemort's wand sent James' wand flying into the air.

Harry rushed forward and barely managed to produce a Shield Charm in time to protect James. The blast threw them both backwards, causing _Harry's _wand to fly into the air. By some unfortunate quirk of fate, a stray Killing Curse struck the wand, shattering it.

Swearing, Harry dived for James' wand a few feet away and fired a Disarming Charm. Voldemort easily blocked this, but was hit by the disarming Charm that Lily had fired a split second later. With a flick of his wrist, Harry Banished the wand into a nearby wood. Glaring, Voldemort Disapparated.

James snarled and sprinted in the direction of the woods, completely forgetting about his wand.

"James, no!" Lily screamed as Harry fired a Trip Jynx. James toppled and Harry grabbed a hold of him to keep him from running again.

"Get off me," James snarled.

"No! We have to get out of here before he comes back," grunted Harry.

"That man ordered the murder of my family, _my parents_. The two people who have raised me for almost eighteen years. You can't possibly understand how I'm feeling."

"You're right," Harry whispered and Lily was shocked to see tears on his face. "I don't know what it's like to lose parents after being raised by them. I lost mine before they got the chance."

Lily gasped and clutched her heart. Abruptly, James stopped struggling and stared at Harry, his mouth hanging in horror.

"C'mon," Harry urged, finally getting his parents to move. They sprinted towards the Hogwarts gates, where everyone was waiting. Harry gave James his wand back, stuffing his own hands in his robes where his wand _should_ have been.

Dumbledore and Lis were streaking toward them. Harry immediately went forward to meet them. "Professor," Harry panted, "he's here. He's after my dad. I stalled him, but then my wand got destroyed."

Lis pulled Harry's wand out of her robes, winking. "Told you time loops are wild," she smirked.

"I won't ask," Harry groaned, "my head hurts enough as it is." He shook his head, as if to clear it. "Professor, Voldemort is here. I Banished his wand into the wood" – he pointed – "but I don't know how much time that bought."

"Back to the castle, now," Dumbledore commanded before striding off down the street. But Harry didn't seem to have any intention of obeying. He stowed his wand and picked up a wand-like stick before cautiously jogging after Dumbledore.

Not even a few steps past the gate, Voldemort Apparated in Harry's path. Harry brandished the stick like it was a wand. Predictably, Voldemort sent it flying. Using is own Quidditch reflexes, Harry whipped out his real wand and hit Voldemort with a Stunner that looked strong enough to bring down a nesting Hungarian Horntail. The most evil wizard of the century lay sprawled unconscious before the gates of Hogwarts.

Everyone stared at Harry. "Damn," Lis breathed.

Harry scowled, "Stop staring and get back up to the castle."

James went from looking awed to looking incredulous. "I'm not leaving until he's dead."

"Then you'll be waiting a long time. Please, trust me, let's just get out of here." He looked into James' eyes and, unbelievably, his face spread into a grin. "Leave defeating Voldemort to 'The Chosen One.'"


	14. Farewell, For Now

Chapter 14: Farewell, For Now

Predictably, Harry avoided James and Lily over the next few days and when he did talk to them, he was always with at least one other person. So, they never got the chance to question him about his outburst. Other than that, none of the three showed any signs that anything had changed, except James, who seemed to finally be managing his grief.

The whole school knew of the Death Eater attack and Voldemort's appearance, though the purpose of the attack and the events leading to the retreat were kept quiet. The "Potter posse" knew the truth, though. Everyone treated Harry with awe, which made him scowl...which made everyone else grin as if enjoying a private joke. People stopped treating James delicately, too, which he was grateful for. Somehow, being treated like he would have broken down any minute had made him more likely to do it.

Eventually, James and Lily decided to throw caution to the winds and dragged Harry from his conversation with Ron to an empty classroom – imagine that.

"Harry, will you talk to us, _please_?" Lily pleaded.

"No. Just forget you heard that."

"Oh, yeah, that will be easy to forget," said James, his voice thick with sarcasm. "Just talk to us."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Of course there is!" cried Lily, tears beginning to leak out of her eyes. "Oh, Harry, how can you possibly keep this to yourself any longer?"

Harry turned his back on them. "I have to," he mumbled and James swore he heard a sob.

"This is about changing time, isn't it?" Lily said with an alarmingly motherly briskness, as if she had caught Harry with a guilty secret. "You don't want to change the future." Harry nodded.

"Why not?" James asked, incredulous.

"Because I don't know that the future would be better."

"Of course it would be better," said James gently. "You said it yourself: Leave defeating Voldemort to 'the Chosen One.' We will be alive, Voldemort will be dead, how is that not better?" He tried to put a hand on Harry's shoulder, but Harry shrugged it off.

Lily gasped as realization hit her. "_You're _'the Chosen One,'" she whispered, her eyes flicking up to his scar.

Laughing bitterly, Harry said, "Yeah, I'm 'the Chosen One,'" – he spat the title – "but not because of some damn prophecy. Voldemort may have been acting on the prophecy, but he's the one who chose me. ...It's an Oedipus Rex thing."

"What?" asked James.

"By trying to prevent it, Voldemort made it true," Lily quietly answered.

Harry nodded miserably and sank into a chair. With a great effort, he looked up at James. "You lost your parents when you were seventeen. I lost mine when I was one, all because Voldemort was trying to fulfill some bloody prophecy. I'm your son. If you want vengeance so badly...imagine how much I want it."

James didn't know what to say. Everything that had happened while Harry was here suddenly took on new meaning. And Lis...with a jolt, he realized that the same thing had happened to Lis. Was their family destined to suffer?

Not able to stand it any longer, Lily gathered her son in her arms, determined to let him cry on her shoulder at least once in his lifetime.

* * *

NEWTs had passed, so had the graduation ceremony, and the end of the term was approaching. Dumbledore promised the time travelers that the records of their exams would carry through the years. All that was left was to find a way home.

"No offense to you guys," Ron said, "but I would like to get back to our time. I wonder if Dumbledore has a spell yet."

Lis smiled slyly. "We told him not to worry about that."

"_What?_"

"Relax," Ronan said. "We have the spell and the Room of Requirement can give us all the ingredients."

So they enjoyed their last days together, not worrying about what would come with the end of the year. They just enjoyed each others' presence. Finally, the day came to say goodbye.

Lis approached Harry with a slip of parchment in her hands. "Not long until your eighteenth birthday," she chuckled.

"No, it isn't," Harry said, looking a tad worried. With a rush of pride, James remembered everything Lis had said about 'the Chosen One.'

"That's why Aunt Hermione wanted me to give you this." She gave Harry the parchment. "It should speed things up. Detailed instructions and everything."

Harry read the paper, his mouth spreading slowly into a grin. "This is perfect!" He seized Hermione unexpectedly and kissed her on the cheek. This annoyed Ron a bit, until Harry showed them the paper and they became just as excited as him.

Sirius looked at James questioningly, who shrugged. "Future stuff."

Soon, it was time for the Marauders to leave; they still had to catch the Hogwarts Express after all.

"I guess this is it," Harry said lamely.

"Farewell, for now," Lis amended. "I'm sure we'll meet again, whether it be in this life or the next."

"And remember, the ones who love us never _really_ leave us," Harry finished.

Sirius laughed. "That's good. Definitely not something James would say, though. Who told you that? I want to thank them."

"You did."

"Oh... Well, thank me, then."

That sent everyone into a round of chuckles. It was a wonder that the Marauders got out of there at all. But, all too soon, Lily and James found themselves outside, staring back at Hogwarts one last time.

"Do you think Hogwarts will always be the same?" Lily asked.

"Of course," James replied. A train whistle sounded. "Come on. The rest of our lives are ahead of us. Let's make the most of them." He held up his mother's ring, their engagement ring. Lily didn't know where he'd gotten it, nor did she care. She just slipped it on and took James' hand.

Together, they went to face their destiny, their heads held high.

**The End**


End file.
